More on “Convenient Untruths”

Global warming denialists have continued to try to make a big thing out of this U.K. court case about “An Inconvenient Truth.”

The Daily Kos has an article about the plaintiff in the lawsuit as well as many links about the case. There is also a link to Al Gore’s response.

Lost River Range: Pass Creek, Pine Creek, Wet Creek

This is from the WWP blog about a range inspection tour we went on back in early October on the Lost River Ranger District. That is in the Lost River Mountains. We looked at conditions at the end of the grazing season in Pass Creek, Pine Creek, and Wet Creek. The Forest Service district ranger (new to the area) came along with one of her range conservation officers.

Things did not look good.

I have been going to this scenic area since the late 1970s, and it was the worst I have seen it, probably due to the drought and heat this summer.

It is still scenic if you look at the mountain peaks and Pass Creek gorge, but you have to look down too.

This is potentially one of the nicest drives in the West (up Pass Creek and over the top down Wet Creek to the Little Lost River Valley), but the intensity of the grazing guarantees it isn’t. Then too on the Wet Creek side the private land has been fenced. They may be good in keeping public land grazers’ cows off private land, but the fence has eliminated the pronghorn that used to always be there, often racing and passing your vehicle.

Lost River Range: Pass Creek, Pine Creek, Wet Creek. From WWP blog.

Pickup truck kills huge grizzly bear near Lincoln, Mountana

A 700 pound grizzly (huge for the interior Rocky Mountains) was hit and killed by a pickup truck on Highway 200 not far from Lincoln, Montana.

This is in the NCDE grizzly recovery area, not the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

Story: Pickup truck kills 700-pound griz near Lincoln. By John Cramer. Missoulian

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Update. Nov. 6. Grizzly Killed by Pickup: The Photos. New West. By Matthew Frank.

Update. Dec. 12. Folks in Montana have tug-of-war over display of giant grizzly. By Kark Puckett. Great Falls Tribune. It turns out the bear was not 700 pounds, but well over 800 pounds!

Update. Dec. 14. The big griz will be mounted and displayed in the Lincoln Ranger District Office (US Forest Service). By Larry Kline. Helena Independent Record.

Note: this is one of the most visited posts on the blog. There is a lot of misinformation about where this bear was killed. It was near Lincoln, Montana. That’s north of Helena. If you are old enough, you might remember the “unibomber” lived near Lincoln. The area has long been known as grizzly bear country.

Rockies wilderness bill gets mixed reviews at House hearing

The House Natural Resources committee gave NREPA, the Northern Rockies ecoystem protection act it’s first hearing yesterday.

You will read objections of people like Idaho governor Butch Otter, and Montana’s lone U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg. These people have opposed much smaller efforts too, even those with lots of local backing.

On the other hand, objections from possible, but not currently likely winning U.S. Senator candidate Larry LaRocco running for the seat of Idaho’s most “famous” senator are more significant because of his party (Democrat).

The comments by Idaho Republican congressman Mike Simpson are encouraging in that many say NREPA is really designed to make smaller efforts, like Simpson’s, politically feasible.

Story. Rockies wilderness bill gets mixed reviews at House hearing. Singer Carole King addresses Congressional committee. By Erika Bolstad – ebolstad@idahostatesman.com

Note: Songwriter and singer Carole King has lived in Idaho at the Robinson Bar Ranch, upstream from Clayton for many years.